Before you make any major investments in your business, you should always ask the question ‘why?’ Why am I doing this? Who will it benefit? How will it help the business as a whole? What do I want to achieve by doing this? So, why do you need an art team? Is it to give certain members of the salon team a creative outlet? If so, have you thought of other ways you could do this that may be less of a commitment? Maybe you want to have an art team out and about in the industry, appearing onstage at events like Salon International or Pro Hair Live so that your brand is recognised as an industry leader. Do you want a team to work on photoshoots to create collections and imagery to support and promote your business? The secret is to keep asking why? If you receive a positive response to all these questions, then maybe it is time to start forming your first art team!
There is no ‘I’ in team, so do you have people within your salon team that have the passion and desire to actually work as part of an artistic team? They’ll have to be prepared to put in the extra hours needed to create photoshoots and put on shows or presentations. Announce your intention to form an art team and ask those who are interested to put themselves forward. Spend time with these people and ensure they have the commitment to working hard within a team. Ideally, set them a creative task that they will need to work on outside of salon hours to test their reliability. You want an art team to motivate those involved, so don’t try and shoehorn people into an artistic team that don’t really want it.
Passion and creativity are just part of what artistic team members will need. They’ll also need a skillset that will enable them to work under pressure, whether it’s in a photography studio, behind the scenes or on stage in front of an audience.
Remember, once an art team is up and running, those members of your salon team will often be out of the business taking part in events and shoots. Can your business support having key team members out for days at a time? Do you have a budget for travel and hotel expenses where they are needed? Think ahead to these additional costs before you take the first step towards forming an art team.
Finally, ask yourself if you want to lead the art team. Do you have the drive, vision and time? If not, you need to think about who the art team leader will be, and ensure they are fully onboard with the idea and have all the essential skills to make it a success.
For related articles, click here
